


Midnight snacks

by Prawnperson



Category: Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! (2012)
Genre: I wrote this for myself but maybe someone else will like it, M/M, Pining, Pre-Relationship, Servant AU, eight year old me would be so disappointed, midnight snacks, probably inaccurate portrayal of the interior of Buckingham Palace
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:01:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21957805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Prawnperson/pseuds/Prawnperson
Summary: The pirate captain and his crew spend the night at Buckingham Palace for reasons I did not take the time to explain.
Relationships: Pirate Captain/Pirate with a Scarf
Comments: 7
Kudos: 17





	Midnight snacks

It’s late, or at least, late by palace standards. The full moon shines through the thin curtains of the servant with a scarf’s room, and it coupled with the lamplight gives him an almost perfect reading lamp. It would be a nice way to round off an exciting day, and he’s just about ready to turn in, only he can hear something outside in the hallway.

There’s a creaking of floorboards, rhythmic and steady, very clearly footsteps, those of a stranger. He can tell from the way whoever it is manages to catch just about every noisy board there is. 

He doesn’t have any time to try and arrange himself into any respectable, decent position before his door is thrown open rather dramatically. It bangs against the back wall and rattles the bedside table, dark figure casting a flickering shadow onto the woven rug. Whenever the servant with a scarf un-scrunches his eyes, he can see that it’s the pirate captain from earlier on today, and for some reason, it makes him want to gasp.

“Sorry! Sorry, just looking for the kitchen.”

The captain informs, trying his very best to shut the door quietly as he steps into the servant with a scarf’s room. He pulls his blankets closer to his chest as the handle clicks into place and seals him into the small space with the pirate. Despite the absence of the cutlass and the captain’s hat from the morning, the taller man still manages to cut quite the imposing figure, and the very last thing the servant with a scarf wants is to be beaten to death in some horrible fashion whilst he’s in his pyjamas.

“Not a problem, sir. Would you like me to show them to you?”

The captain grins then, nodding affirmatively and opening up the door again. The scarf wearing servant untucks himself and pulls on his slippers, reaching for the lamp from the bedside table before padding over to where the captain is holding the door open.

“After you.” He gestures into the open hallway. The servant with a scarf smiles, cheeks growing slightly redder, before exiting the room.

They pass by several doorways and alcoves, lamp casting foreboding shadows down the corridors as the pirate captain follows along behind the servant with a scarf, narrowly avoiding knocking himself against the many unexpected walls and corners that accompany the sharp turns and changes in direction of their journey.

“I didn’t quite catch your name amidst all that hullabaloo earlier on.” The captain half-whispers. His hands brush along the white washed wall of the staircase they’re ascending. 

“Oh, Her Royal Highness doesn’t really waste time with names. I’m usually just ‘you there, with the scarf.’”

He chuckles at his own little joke, stepping off to another landing and turning right. 

“I have to say, I’m not too good in the old name department either.”

“You don’t need to be, sir.”

They finally reach the large wooden doors of one of the smaller pantries, brass handles shining in the lamplight. The servant with a scarf smiles as pleasantly as he’s able and steps back.

“Here they are, sir. If that’s all you’ll need-“

“You don’t mean to say you’ve come all this way and you don’t even plan on joining me for a midnight snack?”

———

They really, really shouldn’t be doing this. The servant with a scarf is fully aware of it, yet for some reason, the pirate captain seemed to know ways to get under his skin, to influence him. 

“I’m the guest here, aren’t I? And you’re just being a gracious host. Nothing wrong with that, is there?”

“I...suppose not, sir...”

The pirate captain lays the plates in his hands onto the table.

“And enough of all that ‘sir’ rubbish. Call me Captain.”

For some odd reason, that makes the servant with a scarf feel pleasantly bubbly inside, like the captain’s just said something remarkably nice to him.

“Alright, uh, captain.”

Despite himself, the servant with a scarf finds his gaze drifting toward a tray of lemon squares set out on the tablecloth. The captain, who already has a bite taken out of a fruit scone, indicates for him to start, and the scarf wearing servant supposes that it would be rude to refuse Her Majesty’s special guest...

“May I ask you something, captain?”

“Crack on.”

“Right...Tell me, what’s it like being a pirate?”

The captain’s eyes light up then,as his pleasant, open face turns a most appealing shade of pink.

“Let me tell you, it’s absolutely fantastic.” He absentmindedly brushes scone crumbs from his luxuriant beard. The servant with a scarf bites down on his lemon square expectantly and nods.

“There’s the looting, of course, and the shanties, and the shiny cutlasses. There’s a myriad of women, you understand, along with plenty of fame and adventure and nice looking hats.”

Suddenly, his face falls a little.

“The only problem is that...well, between you and me, the crew’s a bit of a shambles most of the time.”

“Oh, I’m sure that’s not true, captain.”

“No, no, it is. As much as I hate to admit it, there’s nobody really running the show while I’m doing all the captain-y business, you know? No one to keep the lads in order.”

The servant with a scarf takes a sip of tea, trying his best to think of some words of comfort for a topic he knows very little about. Other than the articles about cannibal hoards and the queen’s various shouting fits he’s had virtually no experience with anything close to a pirate’s life.

“What I need is a good first mate. Patient chap, like you, but firm. Has a bit of backbone to him. Some smarts. The last one got snapped in half about a month or two ago.”

The captain brings his own mug to his lips, yet the servant with a scarf can still feel his eyes scanning over him in a way that makes him feel oddly hot.

“You grow your hair out and you’ve got the job.”

The thing is, he knows it’s a joke. Yet despite that, despite the fact he’s fully aware that the captain isn’t being serious, the servant with a scarf still finds himself going a soft shade of scarlet. Without thinking about it, his hand goes up to the back of his head, fingers combing through the neatly cut waves of sandy brown hair. He probably could grow it out, if he gave it enough time-

“Can’t imagine you’d be much up for it, though.” The captain finally utters, and just like that the brief fantasy shatters and the servant with a scarf is left with his fingers curled uselessly in his hair.

He’s thankful whenever the captain changes the subject. His tone switches back from wistful to adventurous as he begins to stretch tales of daring sword fights, of ivory sands that stretch the entire waterline, of frightful villains with black eyes and blacker hearts. At some point, the servant with a scarf notices, the captain moves his chair a little closer, close enough that he could probably count his eyelashes. Occasionally, his eyes meet the servant with a scarf’s, shining playfully and occasionally accompanied by a wink. It makes him go a little shaky at the knees, to the point where he’s certain he would have to sit down if he wasn’t already.

One of the stories is just winding down whenever a clock somewhere in the palace gives one loud ‘ding’ noise and signals to both men that they’ve stayed up much later than they intended. The servant with a scarf pushes his chair back and takes the empty mugs from off the table, rinsing them off at the small basin near the back wall. He can hear the clatter of china behind him. By the time he dries the mugs and puts them back into the bottom cabinet, the table’s been cleared.

———

“Are you certain you’ll be able to find your way back from here?”

The pirate captain waves his hand dismissively by his head, turning down one of the longer corridors as they branch off into two parts.

“Yes, yes, I know. The big blue room.”

He knows the one he means. It has high ceilings and white wallpaper, patterned with long bands of cornflowers. Window seat. Double bed. Silk sheets.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Oh, definitely.”

“Right, well, goodnight then.”

The captain places a quick hand between his shoulder blades, touch so soft it’s hardly recognisable as an affectionate little pat.

“Goodnight, captain.”

The servant with a scarf waits for the pirate captain to reach the staircase at the end of the hall before turning on his heel and hurrying back to his room, taking the steps two at a time and paying no mind to the unholy racket the floorboards make under his feet. He clicks his door shut quietly, sliding off his slippers and sitting down on the edge of the bed before falling back onto the pillow with a high, heavy sigh.

He has to be up in...five hours. It’s five hours before he sees the captain again. He isn’t sure why he doesn’t like the thought. At least, for a moment he isn’t. 

Only for it to hit him square in the chest in leave him widening his eyes, staring up at the ceiling. He’s not like that. He isn’t. He can’t be. He refuses to be. It’s not right, it’s not normal, and it’s not what he is.

Mostly. 

With a worried sigh, the servant with a scarf pulls the blankets up to his shoulders, turning off the lamp before rolling onto his side, hands balled in the sheets as his eyelids grow heavy.

Yet, even as he sleeps, he finds himself dreaming of hefty ropes and open seas and a particular pirate captain.

**Author's Note:**

> My very talented (and patient) friend helped me make up an au where the pirate with a scarf is one of Queen Victoria’s head servants. It was really fun, and I decided to write this, without the intention of ever uploading it. That probably shows.


End file.
